Rod straightening apparatus



Oct. 6, 1970 I c. 0, SMITH 3,531,972

I KOD STRAIGHTENING APPARATUS- Filed July 29, 1968 INVENTOR.

CLARENCE 0. SMITH BY I J s/ I HIS ATTORNEY United States Patent 01 ice 3,531,972 Patented Oct. 6, 1970 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A rod straightening device which includes a frame with spaced ends interconnected together with a midportion positioned outwardly away from between the ends and rod support means connected to each of the spaced ends for supporting a rod to be straightened on the frame. A lever is pivotally connected to the midportion of the frame to rotate in a plane substantially parallel with a rod positioned on the support means and a roller is journaled to the end of the lever between the ends of the frame to coact with the rod positioned on the support means.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to a device for straightening rods.

The necessity often arises for straightening rigid rods or wires to restore their usefulness. For example, rod weeders are used to cut weeds below the surface of the soil. The cutting rods used in devices of this type are easily bent and deformed as they are pulled through the soil to render them substantially inoperative for their intended purpose unless they are straightened. Accordingly, a need has arisen for a device to straighten bent rods of all sizes, and especially for a device which straightens weeder rods without requiring them to be removed from the weeder frame.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention provides a rod straightener particularly adapted for use with rod weeders.

In its broadest form, the invention comprises a positioning frame with spaced ends interconnected together with a midportion positioned outwardly away from said ends, rod support means connected to each of said spaced ends of said frame for supporting a rod to be straightened on said frame, a lever pivotally connected to the midportion of the frame which rotates in a plane substantially parallel with said rod supported on said support means, and pressure means connected to the end of said lever between the spaced ends of the support frame which coact with the rod to be straightened when the lever is rotated.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the pressure means is a roller journaled to the end of the lever positioned between the spaced ends of the support frame to roll along the rod to be straightened when the lever is rotated back and forth.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS So that the invention may be more readily understood and carried into effect, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which are offered by way of example only and are not to be taken as limiting the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims which are intended to embrace equivalent structures.

FIG. 1 is a plan elevation view of the straightening device of this invention with a rod to be straightened positioned in the device.

FIG. 2 is an end View of the straightening device particularly showing the coaction of the roller with the rod to be straightened.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the straightening device positioned on a cutter rod of a conventional weeder rod.

FIG. 4 is a partial end view of the straightening roller and rod support means of the deviceof this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The straightening apparatus of this invention includes a frame 10 with spaced rod supports 12 and 14 connected to the frames opposite ends for holding rod 16 is a fixed position. An elongated lever 18 is pivotally connected with shaft 20 to the frames midportion so that it rotates on the frame in a plane substantially parallel with the rod. Preferably, a roller 22 is journaled with shaft 24 to the end of lever 18 positioned between the opposite support ends of frame 10 to ride over and along the rod 16 thereby bending it to a predetermined shape as the lever is moved back and forth.

Frame 10 is preferably a U-shaped member with at least a portion of its midportion spaced outwardly away from the rod 16 when it is positioned on the top support surfaces 26 of supports 12 and 14. Said supports can be formed by bending each of the opposite ends of frame 10 towards its midportion. Since most weeder rods have a square cross section the supports are preferably shaped to conform with fiat sided rods. However, it is also within the scope of this invention to provide semi-circular shaped supports 12 and 14 so that rods 16 to be straightened will move to substantially the same position on support surfaces 26 when straightening pressure is applied to them. Most preferably, the ends of the frame are turned upwardly about /8 to 2 inches to prevent the rods from working off of the support surfaces.

As indicated, roller 22 is journaled to the end of lever 18 positioned between the opposite ends of U-shaped frame 10. Preferably, lever 18 is pivotally connected to the frame so that roller 22 can move into contact with the smallest rod to be straightened when the lever is held at a position substantially perpendicular to the rod. By thus positioning it a straightening pressure can be exerted on various sized rods without requiring the lever to be repositioned each time the device is used on a different sized rod. As lever 18 is rotated away from the perpendicular roller 22 is lifted away from rod 16 to allow the rod to be easily removed from supports 12 and 14. When rod 16 is severely bent roller 22 is preferably positioned on lever 18 to ride on the peak of the bend which in some cases requires a substantial separation between the roller and a straight line passed over the support surfaces 26 of supports 12 and 14.

Preferably, roller 22 is mounted between spaced support members 36 and 38 affixed to lever 18 so that the support members extend beyond the roller to act as guides as illustrated in FIG. 4. The roller can be formed with a concave pressure surface 28 when circular rods are to be straightened.

The straightening device of this invention is operated by positioning a rod to be straightened on the spaced supports 12 and 14 and thereafter rotating lever 28 which moves roller 22 against the apex of the bend in the rod. The lever is then pivoted toward the perpendicular with the rod so that straightening pressure is exerted against the rod to urge it to a position substantially aligned between the supports 12 and 14. As shown in FIG. 3, the straightening device can be easily positioned on a cutting rod 30 of a rod weeder, even when the rod is affixed to the weeders frame 32 with spaced position ing arms 34, Without removing the rod from arms 34.

Whereas there is here illustrated and specifically described a certain preferred construction which is presently regarded as the best mode of carrying out the invention,

it should be understood that various changes can be made and other construction adopted without departing from the inventive subject matter particularly pointed out and claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. A rod straightening device which comprises a frame with spaced ends interconnected together with a midportion positioned outwardly away from between said ends; rod support means connected to each of the spaced ends of the frame for supporting a rod to be straightened; a lever pivotally connected to the midportion of said frame which rotates back and forth in a plane sub-- stantially parallel with said rod supported on said support means; and a roller journaled to the end of said lever positioned between the spaced ends of said frame to coact with said rod supported on said support means.

2. The rod straightening device of claim 1 wherein said frame is a U-shaped member.

3. The rod straightening device of claim 2 wherein 4 said spaced ends of said frame are turned toward said midportion of said frame to form said support means.

4. The rod straightening device of claim 1 wherein said roller is journaled between spaced support members affixed to said end of said lever.

5. The rod straightening device of claim 4 wherein said spaced support members extend beyond said roller to act as guides for said rod to be straightened.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,079,442 11/1913 Rutledge 72380 1,547,270 7/1925 Temple 72390 1,651,546 12/1927 Reynolds 72389 1,799,680 4/1931 Endsley 7239O CHARLES W. LANHAM, Primary Examiner G. P. CROSBY, Assistant Examiner 

